Tuesday, January 24, 2017

I would encourage everyone to watch the repeat of this show on the Fox Business Channel this evening. It is very well done and gives a nice overview of the issues with the Frazetta Estate. The show is entitled STRANGE INHERITANCE.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

I just received my copy of the deluxe limited edition of the
SENSUOUS FRAZETTA. It was sent to me by my good friend, David Spurlock, the very hard working publisher of Vanguard Books. Yes, I did recently sell my collection of art,
fanzines, and books. However, I did keep a number of volumes that I consider
essential. All the various publications produced by Dave Spurlock fall into
this category. My bookcase is chock full of Vanguard books. Again, they are
ESSENTIAL for any true Frazetta fan and connoisseur.

This latest volume in the FRAZETTA CLASSICS SERIESis another must have. What could be
better than a volume devoted to Frazetta's women? Patrick K. Hill is
responsible for the overall design of the book and Patrick did an exceptional
job. It is a very handsome volume with accurate captions and nice layout. The
opening essay by Joseph Michael Linsner is heartfelt, sensitive, and insightful.
The remaining explanatory essays are very informative and provide a wonderful
context for the published illustrations. The quotations from Frazetta that are
sprinkled throughout the text are wonderfully appropriate and provide a nice
insight into Frank's thinking. Older fans and newer fans will learn from this book.

The heart and soul of this volume is, of course, the art. What
incredible art! The book provides a wonderful overview of the role that
sensuality and eroticism played in Frazetta's career. Frank drew and painted
women in such a unique manner. His women "Live" on the page. They
touch us, affect us, enflame the mind and imagination. Yes, they encourage more
than a bit of mental lust. The book covers the whole gamut of published genres from magazines to oils to movie posters to paperbacks. The Frazetta visual universe is vast and extremely impressive.

I thought I had seen every single image of females drawn and
painted by Frank. I had the opportunity to see all his private erotic/porno
stories on many occasions. Those stories are filled with the most highly eroticized Frazetta females known to exist. Sadly, these have never been published. This is certainly a sin against art history. However, a surprise on page 12 of this volume is a sensational
illustration that was brand new to me. What a complete treat!

Buy the book! This one illustration justifies any cost. Now you
have something to look forward to...a fresh Frazetta, never before seen.
Extraordinary.

The book presents all the truly great Midwood paperback illustrations. Beautifully presented in this volume in their original sepia wash intent. Exceptional
work. Many are based on photo reference, but the finished result is simply superb. Most
of these original wash drawings are not known to exist. I sincerely hope the
originals will be discovered some day. Frazetta was able to retain a small
number and now these originals are highly prized by collectors. Also in this
volume are the legendary romance stories done for the PERSONAL LOVE comic books. It is nice
to see the side-by-side presentation of these stories: the colored comic on the
right; the original linework in b/w on the left. All these original pages do exist so,
hopefully, at some point in the future we will be able to see repros in full
tonality shot from the actual original art pages. In the meantime this volume
has the best presentation. I thank David Spurlock for adding these great
stories. The stories drip with beauty and sensuality.Again, this is Frazetta at his best.

I really cannot find any fault with this book. Like all Frazetta
projects, this comes across as a great labor of love. Putting together a volume
such as this is not easy. It takes time, care, and participation by people with
art, copies, photos, and rare paperback books. I thank all the people who
helped this book to be the classic it is sure to become. For me it already is
the definitive work on the Frazetta female. It is a work that any fan of
Frazetta will enjoy pulling off his shelf time and time again. It will not
gather dust. A great, great project.

DocDave Winiewicz September,
2016

PS: There are several editions of this book available from VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS. I would buy the deluxe edition. It has a sensational slipcase and a set of extra art pages. The price is very reasonable for a book of this quality.

Monday, November 16, 2015

This is my last video and I ask the question what piece represents the essence of Frazetta. There are many answers to this question. People see different things in different works. I can see a very legitimate argument being made for any Canaveral plate, or Conan oil, or Death Dealer, or the Cat Girl oil. Curious what your thoughts are. You have time to deliberate as you wait for your catalogs to be delivered.

There is a very interesting Frazetta story at the end. In a few places in the video I am glancing to my right. I am actually looking at my iphone clock timer trying to keep the video under twenty minutes. I just made it by 15 seconds! My secure digital card had a twenty minute limit. Whew! I wanted to get it all in one take.

Friday, November 13, 2015

If you want a catalog, you better order rather quickly. They are close to selling out. Go to the PROFILES IN HISTORY web site to order.

I just got my advance copy. The book reflects all the expectations I had for it. It is a stunning presentation, engaging, and immersive. This is as close as one can get to actually approximate seeing the original art. This catalog will instantly become a collector's item. I cannot wait for Frazetta fans and connoisseurs to get this volume in their hands. It is worth every penny.

What an incredible labor of love this represents and the very finest tribute to the legacy of Frank Frazetta!!

Sunday, November 8, 2015

As I promised, the images have been removed after a three day period. I had over a thousand views and countless positive comments. ONE person thought I was doing a disservice to the Frazetta family. What total nonsense. No one has done more to promote Frazetta's legacy for inclusion in art history. That takes intelligence and passion. I have been doing it for 35 years. I have a legal right to show anything that I am selling. People must see things in order to buy them. This is only common sense.

Ellie Frazetta sold the supposedly racist cover to THUNDA 1 by giving it to an auction house. It was their cover image and made a lot of money for Ellie. Was she doing a disservice to the family? No, she was making money, doing business. Let us not be hypocrites here. The family sold the allegedly racist interior pages. Should they be blamed for tarnishing the legacy of Frank? No, of course not. Frank Frazetta loved this art. Everyone needs to understand that. Frank Jr. offers a portfolio of black natives on his web site. one is eating watermelon. Racist? No, I think not. IT IS ART as visualized by Frank. These are beautifully drawn and beautifully colored. Is Frank Jr doing a disservice to the family? Absolutely not. He is exhibiting another facet of Frank's work.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A few things:
Please do not send me any Frazetta images to authenticate. I have been swamped with people showing me forgeries and it is not my place to be the ultimate decision maker. It takes time and I am not getting paid to do it. Let the buyer beware. THERE ARE MANY MANY forgeries out there at all levels, from sketch to illustration to painting. I am done with that, sorry. I had to shut down all my comment/messages because of the influx of nonsense.

The PROFILES IN AUCTION catalog will be mailed right around November 11. A last minute decision by the PROFILES attorneys prevented the Frazetta explicit erotic artworks from being displayed in the catalog. This is, of course, very disappointing. The cultural climate is different here than in, let us say, Europe. In Europe all the auction catalogs are filled with erotic art. We still have this strong puritanical streak that essentially amounts to censorship. What I have decided to do is post all those images on this site next Thursday for a period of three days. I have to watermark the images. The internet is a vast toilet and there are people who will uprez any image and start selling prints even though they have no rights to do so. Uprez software like Genuine Fractals does wonders. Watermarking makes that a little more difficult. So please mark the time and I will get the images up.

There are no reserves. The estimates are quite reasonable. The quality of the art will determine the final value of the art in the marketplace.

Enjoy the catalog!

The hardbound catalog will be out in early November and it is selling quite well. Many collectors are buying two with the expectation that this will become a collector's item in the future. For the true Frazetta connoisseur this catalog is a necessity!!

Saturday, October 17, 2015

A few selections from the wall. Everything is, of course, long gone. My walls are bare. My apologies for the shaky and jiggly video. It was impossible for me to hold the camera still and talk at the same time. One man operation!
Enjoy it anyway!

These are the final version front and back covers for the forthcoming PROFILES IN HISTORY catalog. I have seen the final proofs and this catalog will simply be the finest auction catalog ever seen. Many people have poured their heart and soul into this project including Joe Maddalena, the owner and the person with the vision to initiate this project, and the other catalog specialists: Joe Moe, Lou Bustamante. Julie Gauvin, Rob Pistella, Marc, Brian....what a dedicated crew. My hat is off to all of them. This was a collective labor of love.

The catalog will establish a new standard of excellence in the field. It is currently at the printer and should be available in early November. Oversize, 200 pages, archival paper, and all imagery scanned directly from the original art. A first! No transparencies or slides needed. An amazing direct experience of art from page to brain!! This catalog WILL become a collector's item in itself.

The collection will be online next week. I will be posting quick three part video showcasing a few more highlights. After that I will post some more individual videos about other major originals, the Canaveral covers, The Black Nazgul, The Pteradactyls, and the Lion Queen.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

A new video about the history and importance of this amazing two page comic book story. My next video will be a three part video just showing selections from my walls. Of course, all the art is long gone off my walls so please do not ask me to sell you something before the auction. I have nothing left to sell!!

Remember to adjust the screen to the highest quality or the video will be blurry.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

I apologize for the lapse in production quality. The camera dropped down on the tripod while filming. Also, the white balance shifted in the early portion of the talk. I have no idea why that would happen. I will clean up my act in the remaining vids. The message is still there, however, Enjoy the video!!

Sunday, October 4, 2015

I was able to upload an HD video this time so the quality is a bit better. I will attempt to upload a new video each week until we get to the PROFILES IN HISTORY auction on December 11. I am simply providing an unrehearsed and very spontaneous overview of some of the key pieces in this auction. I have a very large number of "foundational" pieces so I will not be able to cover everything.

Monday, September 28, 2015

I got out my camera and set it up on a tripod, adjusted the light and sound, then stepped in front of it to say a few words about Frazetta. Everything is spontaneous and rather heartfelt. If people like this I might do a few more on selected Frazetta topics. I hope it works properly. This is the first time I used the new uploading device on this site.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Please check the PROFILES IN HISTORY web site for current details about ordering catalogs
The auction will be held on December 11. There will be exhibits in New York and Los Angeles prior to the auction.
The catalog is shaping up to be simply sensational. It will be hardbound and oversize. In over forty years of getting auction catalogs of every size, shape, and quality, this one will be the best and will showcase the extreme quality present in this collection.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

The time has arrived. I will be selling my collection in December through the PROFILES IN HISTORY auction house. There are many extraordinary examples that will be offered. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bid in a once-in-a-lifetime collection. I have passionately and lovingly assembled these originals over the past fifty years and have always collected with an eye to quality, not nostalgia, fad, or the moment's fashionable artist. Frazetta is and will always be a part of art history.

There will be a luxury oversized hardbound catalog for this auction. I will write the descriptions and provide background stories where appropriate. The catalog will be unique in the narrative context that is provided for the art. The collection will also include inscribed books, photographs, portfolios, paperbacks, books, and a near complete set of Frazetta fanzines from the past forty years. In short, it will be a treasure trove of Frazetta goodness.

The announcement is being made official today at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con. I will update this site with more information as I get it. This is just the start of the process. Do not ask about individual pieces just yet. Much that is in these blog pages will be for auction.

Start saving your pennies! Once these originals are sold I doubt if you will see them again for a long time. Fair warning has been given!

Monday, March 3, 2014

I was asked the interesting question of what happened to
Frazetta's Brooklyn accent. Every borough of New York City has its' own
distinctive language pattern. Staten Island residents speak differently from
people in Queens; the Bronx is different from Manhattan. Historically, the most
extreme accent is spoken by the Brooklynites. Brooklyn was nationally famous
for its' accent and distinctive linguistic patterns. Many many famous
celebrities, scientists, and athletes all started in Brooklyn, e.g. Jackie
Gleason, Michael Jordan, Barbra Streisand, Sandy Koufax, Jerry Seinfeld, Bobby
Fischer, and thousands more.Ellie
and the kids still had their New York accents in varying degrees. Of course,
it's only natural that kids would emulate their mother. Yes, I did specifically
ask Frank about this. Frank spoke very clear unaffected English the whole time
I knew him. Here is the short explanation:

"While I was growing up I noticed that all the people on
television and in the movies spoke a certain way. They spoke differently from
everyone I knew.While I was in
grade school some of the kids starting calling some of the other kids 'Brooklyn
Hillbillies'. Minga. They teased them because of the way they talked. Some of
the kids had heavy accents. It never used to bother me. I really didn't pay
attention, but then I started to think about it. It did sound kind of ignorant
and lower class. It was a harsh sound to my ear. Sinatra didn't sound like
that, and he was from Jersey. We hated most people from Jersey, looked down on
them. I don't know why, we just did.I started to really get bothered. Did I sound like that? I asked my mom.
She thought I was nuts. I started to listen more closely to the TV shows and
movies. One of the movies had a guy saying 'get rid of that accent or you'll
never be a success'. FucnnnnnnAaaaaaay! A light went on...I never thought about
just changing how I talked. I wanted a taste of success. I wanted that sweet
smell of success in my life. I was surrounded by losers. I didn't want that. I
despised those guys. Real lowlifes. The next day I went to see the speech therapist
at school. She was a nice old lady who no one really noticed. We thought anyone
who saw her was a retard. She helped kids who had bad stutters or other
problems. She was very kind and met me after school. I was scared that someone
would see me. It would have led to a fight for sure. She gave me a sheet of
words to practice with. She told me to look into the mirror and slowly
pronounce the words. Speak everything clearly, don’t drag out the
syllables. She said people in Brooklyn are lazy speakers. I didn’t
know what she meant.

She said I had to build new mouth habits. Repetition. Practice
it, just like someone would practice pitching or hitting. I did it. Actually,
it wasn't easy. Very frustrating. I had to stay with it.For weeks I stared into the mirror and
kept saying that whole list of words over and over. I made sentences. It took
me a few months, but I got rid of it. I can still talk Brooklyn if I need to.
Why would I need to? Minghia!Fuggettaboutit, eh?[Frank
laughs and blasts out a fusillade of choice Brooklynisms. Funny as hell. ]

I was asked whether or not there were areas that Frank would not
talk about. Well, yes, there was one area. I grew up in the sixties at a time
when music and politics were central to just about everyone's life. It's hard
to convey just how important music was to everyone in the 1962-1973 period
during the Vietnam chaos. My cultural formation was grounded in this music. I
went to Woodstock in 1969,and
wrote half of my senior honor's thesis on Bob Dylan, entitled "On
Xenogenesising A Generation: The Ideas Of Dylan"…a 120 page epic. With that as background I asked Frank
the following question:

Dave: "Frank, what do you think about the Beatles or the
Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan? What about Elvis? You look like his brother for
god's sake! Who did you listen to in the fifties and sixties?

Monday, February 24, 2014

The following discussion takes place in late summer of 2002,
almost one year before I moved out west. I arrived at the Frazetta estate on Saturday
at ten in the morning. Ellie greeted me at the door and said that Frank was
still asleep. Ellie asked me to take her to the grocery store to buy a few
things for lunch. I was not happy to hop back in the car after just driving 340
miles, but that is the way things go in Frazettaland.

We got back and Ellie treated me by making peppers and eggs, my
favorite. Frank walked into the kitchen bleary-eyed and asked for coffee. He
hopped into the shower while Ellie finished cooking. Frank went into the
studio, grabbed a camera, and fired off a few shots of me happily devouring my
peppers and eggs. After lunch we took a ride to the local camera store. It was
a beautiful day and Frank was in good spirits and very lucid. He spoke well and
his mind was crisp. Later that afternoon we got back to the studio, made some
coffee, and sat down to talk. I threw him a manila envelope that contained some
photography magazines and a few photos. We had a discussion on the phone during
the previous week about our all-time favorite photos.I brought some copies.

"Thanks for bringing these. I'm having a hard time finding
Shutterbug anywhere around here. Yes, this is the photo I mentioned. [Frank
holds the famous Eddy Adams picture of the field execution of a Viet Cong
soldier.] I love this picture because of the power, the intensity. It's real,
it happened. That adds to the power. Life and death. It had an impact. What do
you think?"

I pick up the other two photos. One is a famous landscape by
Ansel Adams, the other is by William Eggleston. "I can see why you'd like
that photo, Frank. It is something you could have painted or drawn. But it's a
piece of reportage, a shot taken to record an event. That soldier was
responsible for killing Vietnamese soldiers and American soldiers. The
commander told the photographer that he was justified in killing him on the
spot. Is this artful? Is it creative? No, I don't think so. Look at the Ansel
Adams print. This might be his most famous image. Driving along the back roads
in New Mexico he sees the light appearing and stops his van. He sets up a huge
8x10 view camera and guesses the exposure based on the dying daylight. He
visualizes the scene that is appearing and then takes the shot. What he
captured was the process of creation itself...emerging light bringing things
into existence. It's biblical in its impact. That great expanse of black sky,
the crosses in the foreground, make it even more powerful than that execution
photo, in my opinion. Great art contains more than just what the surface
reveals, Frank. Your art certainly does that. There is a deeper
involvement."

"Yes, I see what you mean. We talked about this before,
haven't we? The fan ends up knowing more than the artist!"He laughs.

"No, no, Frank. There are depths inside you that you are not
consciously aware of. The unconscious, the subconscious...that's the mystery of
art, the mystery of creation. It all flows from you to me in some indescribable
manner. That flow has been going on your whole life. Look at that Eggleston
photo, it illustrates what I'm talking about. It is filled with symbolism of
all sorts. The tricycle represents freedom to a child. It is shot from a lower
perspective. He must have taken the shot while lying on the ground. The trike
is bigger than life for a kid. Look deeper...it's the American dream being
depicted.A house, a car...this is
the future dream for that child. It won't be easy… the skies aren't blue, the grass is
burned out, the trike is rusty and old. Achieving the dream will take a lot of
effort."

All that is in the picture? He put all that in the picture when
taking it? Impossible. You're reading into it. I think your explanation is
better than the photo.

Not consciously, Frank. He is a great and sensitive photographer.
He is presenting a vision that has depth. We engage with it in the same way
that people engage with your Conan oils. Remember that discussion we had a few
years back about all the symbolism in those oils? Remember how we talked about
all that vaginal and penis symbolism in the Conan Usurper oil?

It's there, very powerfully there. Can you deny it? But you
weren't conscious of all that when doing it, were you? But it is there.[To clarify what we are talking about
here, I am referring to a time right after Frank moved back from Florida. The
Boca Grande museum closed and all the art was now in the house. Most of it was
casually stored in Frank's studio. It was late summer, brutally hot and humid,
and we sat in the studio talking. No air conditioning, no fans, just raw heat.
Ellie was bringing us strong Irish coffees. We had about 6 each and got
progressively plastered. We took off our shirts and shoes, sat in our shorts
like cavemen, and Frank placed each Conan oil on the easel. We talked about
what was there. Frank spoke about his intentions; I spoke about all the
implicit symbolism and metaphors he was using. We argued and fought about the
tiniest details. What a night. This is one of the few times I did not take
extensive notes, and I never set up a tape recorder. What a loss. We
progressively got drunker and drunker. Everything became progressively blurry
and unfocused. I do recall sleeping on the sofa surrounded by all the Conan
oils. I looked at them, and looked at all of Frank's loaded weapons strewn
about and recall thinking that I was well-protected that night...and I slept a
very deep sleep. The only event that was comparable to this took place after
the grand opening of the third museum. Frank invited me, Nick Meglin, and
Angelo Torres back to his studio for coffee. Everyone was charged up from that
perfect day at the opening. We talked and argued and debated late into the
night about the nature of art, the nature of creativity, the nature of Frank's
art, and the various thoughts about Wally Wood's art, among many others.
Interestingly, everyone (including Frank) concluded that Wood's best art was
the funny stuff he did for Mad. Frank explained that the sci-fi stuff for EC
was good, but had a stiffness about it because Wally refused to animate and
move the spine properly.It was
like the later Foster Prince Valiant work. Frank loved Wood and had the highest
respect for him. He said that Wood was a man's man, and anything Wally said was
heartfelt and authentic. No BS in Wally at all. Frank appreciated that. He
said, "compared to Woody, everyone else is a hypocrite."

Yeh, yeh, I remember. I still have a hard time believing all
that. You did open my mind quite a bit about those things. That's a new world
for me. I never used to intellectualize about my art. I would just do it.See it and paint it. Simple. Now I
think more. It takes energy. It's like all those strange movies you wanted me
to look at.So different.[Over the years I encouraged Frank to
look at Godard, Fellini, Kurosawa, Antonioni, among others.]

Frank...when it comes to photography, you take a very literal
approach. You document events; you preserve memories of family and events, but
you don't approach it like you approach your art. The closest you get to that
level is when you take those photographs of yourself with a self-timer. Some of
them are brilliant. Why did you take so many shots of yourself in those
years?"

"Hell, I was a great looking guy. Why not? It was fun. That
early comic stuff was shot by Al and Angelo. They had cameras. We loved the
acting. Good times."

You're a photographic gearhead , Frank. You just like the act of
playing with the camera.

You're right there! Look at all the damn cameras I have. Do I
need so many? Now these digital cameras are here. What's gonna happen? Will
these film bodies become obsolete, a waste of money? Now, at the end of my
life, they invent this. I need more time.

Forget it, Frank, you got tons of money. I think a lot of people
misunderstand your love of the hobby. Don’t you still get upset when people
accuse you of swiping? They still talk about that box of swipes you kept in a
box or cabinet. They say you burned everything to polish a myth. Deceit and
lying...those bastards actually accuse you of a massive cover-up. They said you
were a fraud. They want you dragged down to their level.

Boy, that BS never ends, does it. I had a group of art students
here. They came in a bus from New York. I went to the museum. I tried to be
nice and answer questions. You know I have my bad days and don't get across my
thoughts too well. They would not believe that I made this stuff up. They told
me right to my face that it was impossible. What can I do? Paint on the spot.
Haven't enough people seen me do it...time and time again. Ask Al, ask Nick,
ask Angelo, ask Russ, ask anyone who knows me. Wally Wood, Roy, Reed, all those
guys at EC. You know better than anyone. How many times have you seen me make
things up? It all goes back to that book I published. I included that photo I
took of myself for that Clint Eastwood picture. [He refers to the Living Legend
book and the Gauntlet photo study.]After that everyone thought I used photos for everything. Someone showed
me a photo from one of the girly things I did.A guy showed me one of Al's photos from Squeeze Play.
Remember that story? We used photos back then, yes. Not a lot. Not me. Have you
ever seen Wally Wood's swipe files?He's got everything, really, everything. What about Al and Roy. Wow! They
have filled file cabinets...many file cabinets. I was always breaking Roy’s
balls about swiping. He always responded the same: “Frank, Picasso said
to steal from the best if you want to get better. That’s what I’m
doing…getting
better”.
Look at me. I sit down, do a
drawing, make a comp, then just do it. Yes, I had a box of photos and
clippings. Doesn't everyone? Nice pictures you clip out and save. Everyone does
that, don't they? Don't you? Of course, you do. I had a pile of x-rated photos
in there as well. That's why I burned it. I didn't want the kids to get a hold
of that stuff. What aggravating bullshit that whole thing caused me. I never
denied using some photos, using some reference. I thought all those examples
were well known by now. I guess not. What about the movie posters. Most of that
was drawn from reference photos of the stars sent to me by the studios.That is pretty standard. The people
have to be spot on. No interpretation. You have to recognize the star in the
movie poster or it's a failure.Even with all the photos there's a hell of a lot of creativity in those
posters. I worked my ass off on those things. That's a lot of work in there, a
lot. And what about people getting all upset when they discover I used a couple
of things in the Destroyer painting. Big deal. I took a shot of Billy's back to
check some lighting. I borrowed something else that Roy showed me...some little
foreground piece. It fit in. Big deal. When I changed the figure of Conan I
made a couple of little comps...you've seen them. I added a little wash and, then,
bang, I just painted it in. Done. Perfect. I used some Foster on Thunda and the
cowboy stories...old news, isn't it? I always changed those swipes, made them
better. Check them out. I used a
couple of shots for ACE covers as well. People run down my whole career because
of a few images? They don't know what the hell they're talking about. I've been
making things up since I was 5 years old. I did use a lot of magazine images
for that girly stuff I did in the sixties. They paid me nothing and I just
knocked that stuff out. I never even wanted the originals back. Why? It wasn't
me. The few things I kept were 100% me. That floating girl drawing. I worked
hard on that to get it right. I did tons of little comps. It was fun. It came
out great and I kept it. It was special to me. I never should have sold it. The
Canaverals...all made up. You saw my little comps for them. Barely nothing.
Little forms, no lighting...that's all I needed. Show me someone else who could
do that. Name something, anything...I can draw it and draw it well. I've always
had that ability. Call it a gift. I got it...had it. None of that had anything
to do with my photography, nothing. Cameras are totally separate. My art has
always been based on me, not swipes. 98% vs 2%. Is that being a fraud?

Another example, I keep hearing that I based the Conan face on
Charles Bronson, or Jack Palance, or a combination of any number of others.
These experts think they know more about me than I do. It's not that easy. No,
no, no way..

The truth is that I had no one directly in mind when I painted
that face. No one at all. I wanted a look, a deep feeling, intimidation, power,
menacing. I kept working it until I felt it, just to get the quality I
wanted.I wasn't looking at
pictures or thinking about faces. I was way beyond that at that point, way
beyond that. I was trying to capture the feeling, the mood. I wanted it
to...what's the word?...radiate? I just can't express it right. Everyone tries
to simplify the process. You can't do it. It's a kind of magic, a kind of gift
that's personal and hidden. You understand me better than anyone. You made me
aware of this mystery. How often have we talked about this over the years. I do
think about it. I did things and I just don’t know how I did them.

Frank, I have always defended you quite vigorously on this
issue.People just don't get how
lazy you are!![We both have a
good deep laugh]. Look at Al and Roy. They were meticulous in their swiping.
They never denied it. Why should they? I’m not denigrating them. That’s
one approach, and a very common one. It was part of their art process just like it was an
essential part of Norman Rockwell's art approach. Countless photos of
everything, then everything carefully and wonderfully assembled into an idea.
Raymond, Elvgren, hundreds of illustrators...for god sake, that is not the
pathway of Frank Frazetta. You would never have the patience for that
approach...never...not even close. If people really knew you, or saw you work,
then they wouldn't spray all that nonsense all over the place. I always tell people
just to appreciate the gift and the results. I think a lot of artists are just
intimidated by someone like you. They can't do what you do, so they have to
deny that you can really do it. I guess it makes them feel better. Artists are
famous for their insecurities. Using reference is one approach to art and it is
used by most. No problem. You are completely different. That's the source of
your power.

That's for sure. Look at Wally and Reed drinking themselves to
death. Roy had a hard time being confident enough to finish a drawing. He
couldn't do it. Swiping and stealing is the easy road. There are a lot of
others. Art is not an easy field. Most that are in it probably shouldn't be.
They can't draw. They fake it with machines. I was one of the lucky ones to
make it the way I did. And I didn't have the easiest time either after I left
Capp. Tough times. That's another thing that bothers me. They keep calling me a
fantasy artist. I can't stand that. Is that all I can do? I can do anything.
I've done everything. Not just fantasy. Nudes, landscapes, portraits, on and on
and on. I am a creative artist. I make it up. I've been doing it all my life.
Didn't I tell people in that documentary that my art and cameras are completely
separate. And you tell me...why in every article do they start out by saying
"Brooklyn-born" Frank Frazetta? Why? What the hell is the fascination
with Brooklyn? They probably have never been there. It was great growing
up...plenty of fields, open spaces. Good memories of playing ball. But, Jesus
Christ, it just turned to sh*t. Thieves, scum, liars, rapists...no class. There
were killers walking the streets. I'm not lying. I couldn't wait to get out of
there. It's no place to live. It's not safe. Everyone trying to get over on
everyone else.And I want myself
to be constantly associated with THAT? That annoys the hell out of me; it
really does. Tell them, will you. No more. If I loved it I would still be
there. No way. They can keep it. I had nothing but problems there. Forget it.
Remember that time we drove there in my Jaguar? I told you then. It hasn't got
any better. Still bad. Tell them to change it to "American-born ".
That's a thousand times better.

Then there are those fans who keep telling me that I use myself a
lot as a model. They see it clearly. They see me painting myself into
everything. Everywhere they look they also see Ellie as the model for all my
women. Do they really think I'm like Boris? What are they looking at? How can
they see me and Ellie in just about everything? Ellie as Cat Girl? Ellie as
Golden Girl? Are they insane, blind, what?Me as Conan? Me as John Carter? What?

Well, a muse is someone who is a source of inspiration for an
artist or author. It can refer to a wife, girlfriend, or mistress, or just
about anything. Many artists talk about their muses who deeply influenced their
work.

Well then, I must have about a hundred muses. Ellie as my muse is
crazy talk, nuts. I painted her a few times. So what? I painted the kids too. I
painted my mom, and I painted Christ himself. The one time I really did want to
use her and she said a flat "no". I had an idea to do a follow-up
book to that book of monsters I did for Danzig. It would be in different types
of pencil, all nudes, all using Ellie, and using very different types of really
dramatic lighting. Ellie would have been my life model. She said
"no". She said she was too busy with the business and the kids. I
dropped the whole thing. At that moment I was really motivated, excited about
the idea. Danzig would have published it. Something totally new. What a
letdown. I did have a woman in the museum a while back who came up to me and
said "how does it feel to have a perfect marriage?"Perfect marriage??? She doesn't know me
at all, and she says THAT? Christ, I should have gotten a divorce years ago.
I'd never be in the spot I'm in now. I hate it when strangers talk about my
life. Who the hell has a perfect marriage?

People get that idea based on the pictures in the books showing
you and Ellie. You appear quite happy. They draw a conclusion from that. People
are always quick to jump to conclusions about just about anything.

Of course I was happy then. People don't take pictures of
themselves fighting, do they?Those were very early pictures. Things changed. I made a big mistake by
not making a move. Everyone would be happier. The kids would have been better
off. I see that now. I was too lazy, too weak, too comfortable. I accept blame.
I did things. A lot of things. I’m not proud of it. You know that. You get used to things. You get used to
anything.Bring me that Golden
Girl off the wall. Look at that picture.

Where do you see Ellie? In the straight hair? The face? The long
legs? The tall body? The large breasts? There's nothing of Ellie in that
figure. Nothing at all. But ...Ellie tells them in the museum that she is the
golden girl, and everyone believes her. Look with your eyes for cripes sake.
That stuff upsets me. What can I do? I don't have the energy. I’m
an old man.

Frank, I remember years ago when we talked about this. You said
that if someone wants to analyze your pictures, then look at Marlon Brando,
Robert Mitchum, William Holden, Victor Mature, Jack Palance, Burt Lancaster and
others for your male form. Look at Marilyn Monroe, Bridget Bardot, Merle
Oberon, Anna May Wong, Elizabeth Taylor , and all those pinup girls from the
late 40's and 50's for your female types. Who did I forget? Betty Page? Mamie
Van Doren? And that girl photographer. Who was that? I forget. Irish McCalla?

Great memory, as always. Yes, absolutely right. What a bombshell
she was!What a face! I could draw
her perfectly right now. All that is what I saw, what I remember, what is mixed
into my mind when I pull up something in my imagination. Look at that
unfinished EC story. [Frank is referring to the Came The Dawn story]Is that me as the main character? Hell
no. It is a mix of all those guys. Everyone says it's me. The girl is purely made
up. I wasn't thinking of anyone in particular. That would have been a great
story. Too bad. Too late now. Hey, I'm an old man, I'm sick, I got tons of
problems. I'm lucky to be alive. I really get discouraged about this stuff. I
expected my fans to have more on the ball. I'm going to stop going to the
museum. It gets too damn depressing.

Forget it, Frank. Don’t get upset about those ignorant few.
You’ve
got great fans out there. I talk to them all the time. Your impact is there.
You are on a different level. The audience will rise to a higher level in the
future. The quality of your work will keep bringing in people with some brains
and clout. Your legacy is secure. You don't have a damn thing to prove to
anyone. Stop fighting with Ellie over nonsense. It only stresses you out and
nothing comes of it. I told you a thousand times. Get all that negativity out
of your life. Watch baseball, play with the grandkids, and enjoy your cameras.
Do what you enjoy. Screw everything else.

You're right. Ready for another cup of coffee?

[An aside to clarify the photography issue a bit: Frank is the
most fanatical camera shutterbug I have ever met. He loves photography as much
as anything on this planet. However, Frank's priority is with the physical
equipment, not the photograph. Modern photography has given this a name,
namely, he suffers from G.A.S (gear acquisition syndrome). He loves cameras as
an end in itself. For example, when Frank had his first major stroke in 1995, I
went to Stroudsburg immediately. Everyone thought he was ready to die. Ellie
called me in tears and said I needed to come down immediately. Well, one day
after the stroke, Frank began to recover in almost miraculous fashion. His
right hand and arm were numb and his speech was still garbled. He started to
recover from these deficits. The first thing he asked me to do was bring him a
Pentax lens from the house. He wanted a 50mm lens that had a special coating. I
brought it and he fondled it like a rosary during his recovery. He wanted to
look at it, feel it, and appreciate it as an aesthetic object. It gave him
comfort and something to concentrate on. He cherished his camera collection and
prided himself on the quality of his lenses. He loved reading about cameras,
about lenses, and kept up on the values of used cameras. I taught him how to
read MTF charts, so he could better evaluate lens quality. We spent countless
hours talking about resolution, vignetting, and chromatic aberrations. Photography
also got Frank into trouble in his early years. Ellie told a lot of fans,
including me, the famous story of Frank stealing cameras from a local camera
store. He then sold those cameras to a pawnshop in the same neighborhood. Not
smart. He got arrested and called Harvey Kurtzman to bail him out. Harvey asked
Al Williamson to help raise the bail money. Frank used the arrest, among other
things, as a badge of honor. All these "events" are probably the
reason Frank was never drafted for the Korean War. He was a persona non grata.

His enthusiasm for cameras was infectious. He infected everyone
around him with the shutterbug disease. During my last phone call with Frank in
April, 2010 he spent most of the time bemoaning the theft of his camera
collection. I have never heard him so upset. He was in a black mood. I was told
that he was also complaining about this during his very last dinner. There is
no question in my mind that whoever stole Frank's collection hastened him to
his final fatal stroke. He was angry and fixated on this during his last days.
It put him in a very dark place. Such is the passion Frank had for cameras and
photography. A very sad and tragic end. Anyone who ever visited Frank in his
studio knew the pride he took in showing off his cameras.]

Monday, February 17, 2014

This is a little peek into the Frazetta resource material I draw upon when composing an essay. The academic world would label this as "primary source material". I have always approached Frazetta with a view to preserving as much of his intellectual legacy as possible. I wanted accuracy and clarity, everything grounded in the actual words and thoughts and images of Frank himself. This is just a glimpse. Please do not ask me for further repros. I am saving it all for my book. When? Who knows? I discovered a lot of things I forgot I had while digging around. I have copies of most of the porno work, and I have countless photos from Frank's darkroom, and I have serious discussions with Frank on just about everything from art, to family, to wife, to kids, to friends. A scholar's dream!

Friday, February 14, 2014

During my absence from this site I had an opportunity to look
around in my files and storage boxes. I found some things I had completely
forgotten about. This includes two pens that Frank used when drawing the famous
Canaveral plates in 1963-1964.

The story starts in 1982 during a summer visit. Ellie was
shopping and the kids were out of the house (some were still living at home
during this time). Frank was looking for a sketchbook where he taught Roy
Krenkel how to draw cats. He was frustrated in his efforts. This was before the
new large studio was added to the rear of the house and everything was crammed
into a very small studio space just off the living room. We went upstairs and
Frank literally dove into the hall closet. He came out with several sketchbooks
of varying sizes. We brought them downstairs and placed them on the dining room
table. I always make a note of what is on the walls every time I visit. The
walls were always changing. Today we were surrounded by a couple of KublaKhan plates, a Warren oil of the Lady
with Scythe, the two page Cindy is
Saved comic book story, a Wally Wood robot illo, several Nina panels, and a
large Krenkel cityscape of Old Aquilonia (which Frank received from Roy as a
wedding gift). Frank quickly flipped through the books. One book contained two
dipping pens/crow quills. Frank looked at them and started to ponder why they
were there. He quickly remembered. He told me that these were two of his favorite pens and that
he used them to draw the Canaveral plates. He wanted to preserve them in case a
special project came up. He completely forgot about them.The sketchbook had a few pages
containing very loose pencil/umber thumbnail studies for some of the later
Canaveral drawings. Frank said that a lot of pens had nibs that fought him as
he worked. They were scratchy and had a harsh feel in the hand. These, he said,
were like oil being spread on glass….silky smooth. He used brushes as
well, of course. But he said that brushes didn’t give him as much trouble as long as
he bought good quality. Pens were just more finicky, he said. In later years
Frank would constantly complain at the deterioration of quality in art
materials, especially the paper and ink.

I was in stunned silence at the table. TheCanaverals have always been my all-time
favorite Frazetta pieces. They are unmatched and glorious. Each one is a little
piece of perfection. I have written about them extensively over the pasttwenty fiveyears. Most people have never seen one in person. The three
Frazetta Museums never had one on display. They are rare and highly coveted. It
was a joy to discover and see these pens preserved by time and hidden upstairs.
A pure serendipitous discovery.

After a few moments, Frank took a sip of coffee and simply tossed
them at me. "Take them", he said. "Let me clean them up a bit
for you." “Not a chance, Frank”, I quickly said. “I
want that ink left on them for posterity. This is real history.”
The tools of the greatest draftsman who ever lived. It takes ones breath away.
I love that these pens have Frank’s fingerprints preserved in ink on the
surface. They have all those wonderful marks of use all over the surface. The
nibs are encrusted with dried ink. Just glorious.

(C)2014 DocDave Winiewicz

PS: Of course, careful readers are wondering if Frank found the
sketchbook he was looking for. Yes, he did. It contained pages of Frank showing
Roy how to draw a cat’s body, then his head, then his whiskers and ears. Very
detailed. Roy’s efforts were on the adjoining page. The book also
contained some quick Krenkel cityscapes. I believe one is included in Frank
Junior’s
book, but it is improperly credited to Frank. It is a Krenkel. Another
sketchbook was loaded with pencil studies for the Lord Of The Rings plates.
There was a great scene with Smaug the dragon that never made it as a finished
plate, just an unused idea. Where is all this stuff now?

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Words simply are not adequate to describe how much I miss Frank. The world is severely diminished by his passing.

However, we can still appreciate and celebrate his art. I have chosen to present two very very minor convention sketches executed in 30 seconds, not more. To capture such distinctive character and life in a few abbreviated strokes is his genius. And, finally, look at an example of his mature signature…fascinating for its lively surface and its precision. It bristles with the life of the pen. We feel it and take joy in it. A gift from the master.

Frazetta still lives because he lives in our imaginations and our hearts!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

In 1966 I was a high school student in Chicago. I was fanatical
about comics and anything related to comics. I loved the early fanzines and all
that wonderful enthusiasm that dripped from every rexographedand mimeographed page.In 1966 Spa Fon 2 appeared, published
by a group of fanatical Chicago land collectors. That issue had an interesting
essay on Frank Frazetta written by Helmet Mueller and a never before seen piece
of art by Frazetta as the cover image. I was in heaven. Helmet also owned an
original Ghost Rider cover and would also acquire the watercolor cover to the
Secret People a bit later. He was a very passionate nut. I liked him a lot. I
asked Helmet where the Spa Fon art came from and he told it was owned by a guy
named Bill Zichter who worked as a freelance commercial illustrator. I tried to
locate him but could not. Eventually I just gave up. He knew Frazetta back in
the early 50's when Frank worked for Magazine Enterprises , M.E. Comics. He
moved to Chicago a bit later. Everyone wondered what happened to that original
art. This is, I believe, the first time a finished Frazetta illustration
appeared as a fanzine cover. Many many bootlegs would follow.

Skip forward almost 50 years! The Spa Fon 2 cover shows up on an
eBay auction run by Gary DolgoffComics.I inquired and
found out that the estate was selling off an art collection owned by a deceased
artist named Bill Dichtl. My God, I was given the wrong name all those years
ago. Just finding out what his name really was provided real satisfaction.
Dichtl also had two Johnny Comet Sundays, with one done by Wally Wood. He also
had several Durango Kid pages. Everything was fresh to the marketplace and
unseen for almost 50 years. Amazing that it survived. The mystery, of course,
is why the art was done in the first place and why it ended up in Bill Dichtl's
hands?

Here's the second part of the mystery. Dichtl had the original
art published in Durango Kid #3, p. 27. It was an early page with dramatic
lighting effects.It sold during
the eBay auction. However, and this is where it gets interesting, many months
earlier Mike Burkey sold an almost identical page as part of a complete White
Indian story. Owners and potential buyers got concerned. Many collectors were drawn into the discussion to voice their opinions: Roger Hill, Pat Kochanek, Duane Capizzi, Wally Harrington, Rob Pistella, among others. I have pictured both pages with this essay for reference. The
White Indian page was published in White Indian #13, dated April/June 1954.
Since Bill Dichtl owned the original page that means that someone was hired to
draw a duplicate page for the much later reprint of that story. Who did it?
Many thought it must be Angelo Torres. Angelo was contacted and he had no
memory of doing such a page. I think the page was recreated by Frazetta
himself. The argument against this is that Frazetta was assumed to be furious
with Vince Sullivan, the owner of M.E, for doing a deal behind his back with
Columbia pictures for a Thunda serial in 1952. Frank received nothing and
didn't know about the deal. The argument is that Frazetta would not do any
extra work for Vince because he was furious with him for cutting him out of the
deal. However, the page exists. Someone got paid to recreate the page so a
reprint of that full story could be published. Look at the cover art on the reprint. I enclosed an image of the cover. Could that artist have recreated the page? Not even close. No way.

Longtime collector and art historian Roger Hill was able to track
down Bill Dichtl and did a few interviews with him. Unfortunately, Bills memory
was rather fuzzy and unclear. He didn't remember specific circumstances
surrounding the Spa Fon cover art or the other Frazetta originals he owned. After prodding by Roger, he did recall some of the art he had. We
will never know how he got them. I searched out a discussion I had with
Frazetta about this artist. At the time I asked Frank if he remembered Bill
Zichter (remember I had the wrong name for years). Frank had very fuzzy
memories of people hanging around the offices and doing various jobs. When I
pressed him about the Spa Fon cover image, he mistakenly told me it was
probably a JohnnyComet drawing.
In reality, the cover image is a portrait of Thunda. Over the years confusion
arose because the inscription looks to be a classic Johnny comet signature from
the end of the strip. It's a powerful portrait with tremendous energy and
intensity. It is a minor masterpiece and I was very gratified to add it to my collection after so many years of wondering about it. A gem, as Frank would say.

As for that recreated White Indian page... it sure looks like
100% Frazetta to me. It's just too damn good. Great energy and very confident
brushwork. I just don't see Torres in that page or anyone else for that matter.
Looking at that face in the lower left panel, it just screams Frank to me. And
the bottom right panel looks like a little art challenge that Frank set for
himself. Again, it's just too good for most other artists. Also, look at the
thinned ink throughout that page. Who else utilized that technique? Also, the
fact that both bottom panels were reconceived and other smaller changes made all
over the page just reflects Franks temperament to me. Never happy, he had to
change the weak points. Frank was always searching for a better mode of
expression, a more powerful presentation. Isn't this a foreshadowing of what he
would do later with his oils and his constant tinkering? This is, in my
opinion, the earliest precursor for what would become a Frazetta trademark:
Change and the relentless search for higher and higher levels of excellence. So
we have a precious gift here...a comic page drawn in 1949 and the same page
recreated in 1953... The difference is clear. Frazetta's powers had grown
considerably during that period.

The question remains...why would Frank do it if he was mad at
Sullivan? The answer is probably...money. Frank probably needed the extra cash.
Sometimes the most obvious explanation is the correct one.